Tucker, Rush Post Day One Personal Bests At Spec Towns Invite

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ATHENS, Ga. — The Bulldogs are in the top spots in both the decathlon and heptathlon with a series of career-best performances during the opening day of the Spec Towns Invitational in Athens Thursday.

Sophomore Maximus Tucker racked up 4,257 points in the decathlon to take the lead in the field of 10 competitors.  He joined the competition in the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m on day one.

Senior Ella Rush notched a 74-point day one personal best score in the heptathlon to take the overall lead.  She scored 3,434 points through four events (100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m).

This marked the first meet for the Bulldogs at the Spec Towns Track at the newly completed UGA Track & Field Complex on South Milledge.

The Lowdown: Tucker, who hails from Milton, Ga., posted four personal records out of his five events and holds a 153-point overall lead.  On Friday, he will wrap up the 10 events with the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m.
*Tucker came out of the blocks with a personal best 10.96 to take second in the 100m, marking his first time breaking the 11-second mark.
*He popped a personal record 6.94 meters/22 feet, 9 ¼ inches on his first try in the long jump before soaring a PB 7.06m/23-2 on his third and final attempt.  This was the second-best mark of the competition to keep him in second place overall.
*In the third dec event of the day, Tucker exploded for three straight personal records to win by more than five feet.  Opening with a mark of 14.49m/47-6.50, he followed with a 14.75m/48-4.75 before concluding with a massive toss of 15.26m/50-0.75.  Tucker moved into a 167-point lead after the third event.
*Tucker worked up to a personal best high jump of 2.03m/6-8 on his second attempt before retiring from the event with the win.  This bumped his overall lead to 122 points with only the 400m remaining on Thursday.
*He collected a .02 victory in the 400m to finish 153 points ahead of the nearest competitor.  Tucker crossed the line in 47.74 after going 47.70 at last year's SEC meet.

Rush, a native of Repton, England, was 4-for-4 on personal bests and stands atop the 19-woman field with the long jump, javelin and 800m to come Friday.
*Rush topped her previous personal record in the 100m hurdles from last year's SEC Outdoor Championships with a 13.97 to take second.
*She matched her PB in the high jump with a third try clearance at 1.68m/5-6 to take second.  This kept Rush in second by 11 points headed into the shot put.
*Rush passed her last shot put PB from the 2024 conference meet to take third in the event and move into first overall by 63 points.  She sandwiched a mark of 12.40m/40-8.25 in the middle of her three-throw series.
*She surged out of the blocks in the third heat to clock a personal best 24.50 to win the 200m.  Rush's finish extended her overall lead to 168 points headed into Friday.

Friday's Schedule: The decathletes will get back to work on Friday with the 110m hurdles at 12 p.m.  Rush and the other heptathletes will line up in the long jump at 12:30 p.m. on day two.  The first open events of the meet are the women's hammer throw and pole vault at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' indoor and outdoor seasons will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia's track & field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

University of Georgia Athletics

Tucker, Rush Post Day One Personal Bests At Spec Towns Invite

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